Irwin's Be Wiser Ducati transition hampered by conditions

Glenn Irwin says he's satisfied with his progress in Spain during pre-season testing with Be Wiser Ducati despite the challenging conditions limiting track time

Glenn Irwin says he's satisfied with the number of laps notched up during in Spain during pre-season testing with new team Be Wiser Ducati despite the challenging conditions limiting his track time.

The BSB rookie has spent the majority of testing adapting to life on the Ducati Panigale R superbike and helping the team develop the bike into a competitive package ahead of the 2016 MCE British Superbike championship.

Track conditions at Guadix and Cartagena proved to be particularly tricky for the Pirelli tyres due to very low temperatures and while Irwin avoided taking any undue risks in testing he's content with the laps recorded and developments made as he returns to the UK.

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"It's still all about learning for me so my plan was to gradually build up and not do anything silly," Irwin said. "I did lots of laps at both Cartagena and Guadix and the team got through a mountain of work. Conditions, especially at Guadix, kept me on my toes, but once I got the hang of the circuit, I was able to lap faster.

"We found a good setting and as a result, I felt really confident with the bike and was able to reduce my lap times consistently. However, on the last day the track was freezing cold and even though I was one of the few riders venturing out on track, the change we made to the bike wasn't good as we went in the wrong direction.

"But we are not a million miles away and as Shakey said, it wasn't about putting record-breaking laps in over here it was time developing this brand new bike."

Irwin will now prepare for one-off test days at Silverstone and Donington Park at the end of March before the 2016 season opener at the Northamptonshire circuit on the 8-10 April.

"I'm looking forward to the tests at Silverstone and Donington Park at the end of the month as they are tracks I know well and we don't have to factor that into the equation," he said. "There we can try to push on a bit to hopefully set us up for the opening round of the championship."